Pico's Cycling - Tales of the Road is an online cycling magazine. It is intended for writers and riders who want to share their on the road cycling stories and pictures. Submissions that follow our guideline are gratefully appreciated. See the appropriate page in the site menu. Will publish the best of the best each month. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter @PicosCycling.

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Monday, 29 September 2014

Off the Beaten Path

By Pico Triano

Photos by Pico Triano

Living
on an undesignated road that is in places little more than a dirt
track brings back some fond childhood cycling memories. One thing I
liked to do on my old beat up one speed bicycle was to go exploring.
Unopened road allowances, motorcycle trails and virtually any other
cyclable path would satisfy that urge. You would not believe the
number of hidden little places like that are often just around the
corner from where you live right now.

I had
several places I liked to go growing up. Number one was easily the
Shorthills located just outside of the nearby town of Fonthill,
Ontario. There were an endless number of trails and non-maintained
roads all through there. Closer to home there were a few unopened
road allowances which were great nearby getaways. For an occasion
change of pace I would visit “The Pit” which was an unapproved
dirt bike paradise in an old unused sand quarry.

The
Shorthills is a geographical feature left by the glaciers. Most of
the roads on the Niagara Peninsula are laid out on some kind of grid.
Because of the terrain that doesn't work in the Shorthills. The roads
squiggle all over the place. The regular roads in there are fun to
drive on but that isn't all that is there. For example Sixteen Road
appeared to dead end on Effingham Road. A trail used to continue on
through and it was a terrific fun ride. Hogsback Road and St. John's
Conservation area were other great adventures. I haven't been in
those places for several decades so I imagine things have changed a
lot. There is probably still a lot of places in there where you can
get away from everything on your bike.

The
unopened road allowances were a lot easier and closer to find. Since
most of the roads in the area were constructed on a grid, just look
for a place the grid says there should be a road and the map say
there isn't one. Cream Street and Foss Road both had missing sections
according to the map. In both instances there was a road allowance
and a rough trail going down it.

Riding
off road as it were doesn't work too well with a racing or touring
bike. In those cases I would stick to the paths more travelled. A
mountain bike or anything with fat enough tires is great for
exploring these places off the beaten path.